Myra Panache's book of original stories, "Book 1: Short Stories" has been released. Titles include: "Ballin 4" "Downlow Escort" "Female Assassin" "Above Top Secret" "Inside The Life Of A $1,000 Per Hour Call Girl" (Prequel to $20,000 Per Weekend Call Girl), "Female Seeking Female" (Personal Ad Nightmare) and "Experiments." To order, click on the following link, Book 1: Short Stories by Myra Panache

This story is a work of fiction. Names characters,
places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination.

DOWNLOW THUG:

David Grier (Davey G) grew up in Hunters
Point, a tough inner-city neighborhood in San Francisco. David walked
the walk and talked the talk. He fashioned himself a gangsta, he was more
like a wanksta. He slung rock out of the projects. His hangout was
the local fish grill. He had a table in the back, this is where he conducted
all of his business. Davey had a little juice, he also preferred his own
company, less chance of getting busted. Davey was known for his quick
temper.

He was also known to crave the love
and respect of the local ballers, Davey wanted to be like them. You could
always find Davey decked out in his NFL jersey, cap turned backwards and his
air jordans. He slung enough crack one summer to purchase a used whip,
he got a Firebird with fly rims. Davey was flossing all over the hood
with one of his wifey's in the passenger seat. His sex drive was so high
that he encouraged women to have babies by him, just another notch in his belt,
he had no intention of taking care of his kids, it was all about ego and manhood.
He had two baby mama's, Ebony and Jenny. Women got out of line,
Davey did not hesitate to put the smack-down.

Davey wanted to move up the ladder in his small time crew, he took on new assignments.
Robberies, muggings and jackings. During one of his heists, Davey
stomped the victim so hard that he crushed his spine, paralyzing him. This
violent act gave Davey major juice in the hood but he decided to lay low, after
the incident, he shacked up with Ebony. He soon grew tired of her nagging
and the baby crying, it was cramping his style. He beat her ass and moved
in with his other wifey. One evening, he and Jenny got into a fight over
his disciplinary actions towards their son, the child was covered in bruises.
When she asked Davey about the bruises, he responded by beating her ass.

She called 911 before he grabbed the
phone out of her hand. Davey was arrested. This was his second
strike. While he was in the back of the cruiser, he thought, damn, the
laws have strengthened on assaults against women and domestic violence, in the
future, I may have to hire a hardcore dyke to keep my women in line. His
Uncle told him that he was turned down for employment with the State because
he had a domestic violence conviction on his record although it was a misdemeanor,
they usually decline you for a felony, domestic violence is the only misdemeanor
exception they turn you down for.

He also heard that military and law enforcement were turning down applicants
if they had a domestic abuse history. Brothas were being locked up left
and right in San Quentin for corporal domestic violence. After Nicole Brown
Simpson got killed, you couldn't even slap a woman, what the fuck was the world
coming to? Davey pled guilty to assault, he was sentenced to one year in
San Quentin, with good behavior, he could be out in six months. After the
sentencing, Davey motioned for Ebony in the courtroom, he told her, stay strong
and take care of our son, he wiped her tears, don't worry baby, I can jail with
the best of them, I will be out of here before you know it, it's a badge of honor
to do time in the ghetto, gives me more juice.

Davey was led away in handcuffs.
On the prison bus, he realized, he better hookup with a homeboy doing time in
San Quentin, Davey could get protection from Big Walt and his crew. Davey
was processed at the reception center and led to his cell. His cellmate was
an old timer who kept to himself. Later that day, Davey was let out for
recreation, he found Big Walt on the basketball court. He approached him
with a smile, show me some love homey, Walt pushed him back, you better step,
that kid you robbed and paralyzed, he my little cousin. He stuck in a
wheelchair for life, you on your own in here, I'll make sure of that.
Davey returned to his cell agitated and jumpy. He began to watch his back.
The next day, his fears came true. He was ambushed in the shower
and sodomized by three prisoners.

The guards found him in a pool of blood, he was rushed to the prison hospital,
his rectum had to be surgically repaired. During his recovery, he questioned
his sexuality and refused to go to group therapy. He also declined testing
for various diseases. It was very painful for him to sit or to go to the
bathroom, he had a long and slow recovery. Davey was moved out of the general
population, he finished serving his time in solitary confinement. He had
written Ebony and Jenny, they never responded.

His mother answered
his letters and sent him care packages. Davey was released, he was disappointed,
no one was there to greet him outside the gate. He understood why his
mother was not there, she worked two jobs, but where were his women? He
would have to get both of them in line. He headed for Ebony's house.
Ebony answered the door, Davey lunged on top of her, he felt someone pulling
him off, he looked up to see a cop in uniform, Ebony's new man. The cop
slammed him into the wall and told him "Don't ever come around here again, don't
ever call, if you see Ebony out in public, keep walking, if you break any of
these rules, I will personally send you up on your third strike."

Davey arrived at Jenny's apartment,
she looked out of the peephole, she would not open the door, she told Davey,
I took a restraining order out on you, if you don't leave, I will call the cops
and have you arrested, go find another woman to beat on, you are a coward, real
men don't beat women, I am not a punching bag. Davey muttered under his
breath "fuck bitches." Davey took a bus to the Castro (gay district) in
San Francisco and picked up a male hustler, they went to a seedy motel in the
Tenderloin. Since Davey was a top, he didn't really consider himself gay
or bi. Afterwards, Davey arrived at his mother's house, at least she was
glad to see him. Over the next few months, Davey slept with men and women.
He would take a bus over to the Eastbay, head to a park in Berkeley,
cruise the gay men, have sex in parked cars or in the bushes. On one of
his park excursions, he was approached by a porn producer.

Davey pocketed his business card. Afterwards, he went to a gay bathouse
and had anonymous sex with strangers. Davey was running low on cash, he
called the producer, they had a meeting, Davey was cast in a low budgeted porn
film, the movie would be shot in a vacant warehouse in West Oakland. Davey
played a gay rapist who wore a leather S&M mask throughout filming. In the
last scene, he participated in the gang rape of a drag queen. Between takes,
during a short break, Davey took off the mask. A few weeks later, the drag
queen recognized Davey at a gay bar, 'she' ran over to embrace him, Davey punched
her in the eye and fled the club. Davey would take his female dates to Raider
games, afterwards they would go to the Eastmont Mall to watch sideshows.

He also had unprotected sex with these
women. He met another undercover brotha named Kirk who lived with a woman
but dated men on the downlow, he also got turned out in prison. They started
hangin. They went to the Russian River for a gay event and received blow
jobs while they rode the hot air balloon. When they returned to San Francisco,
their genitals were sore from having so much random sex. They decided
to attend the Gay Parade in disguise, their attire was thugged out. Baseball
caps turned backwards, bling-bling, sunglasses and jerseys. They picked
up two out of town men, the men were attracted to their roughneck thug appeal.
They double-dated, went out to dinner and finished the night in seperate
hotel rooms with the men.

Davey even accompanied Kirk to a scarf party, the partygoers hid scarves on
their body, you got to feel them up while looking for the scarf. They also
attended gay orgies, if you weren't satisfied with the men in attendance, sex
toys were available for your pleasure. Davey suddenly became ill with night
sweats, vomiting and fevers. His mother took him to the hospital, the doctor
took a battery of tests. Two weeks later, Davey was summoned back to the
hospital, the doctor informed him that he tested positive for HIV. Davey
was devastated. His mother broke down and cried after he informed her.
She vowed to stand by her only child. Davey was bitter, he knew he got infected
in prison. He had heard through the prison grapevine-men came into prison
straight and left bi or gay. AIDS runs rapid in prisons all over the country
because sex is forbidden in penal institutions therefore condoms aren't issued.

These inmates never tell their wives
or girlfriends about their same sex encounters and a large majority of these
women get infected with the AIDS virus. Davey confided in Kirk about his
HIV status, Davey was taken aback when Kirk admitted that he was also HIV positive.
Davey looked at him in shock and asked, why are you still having unprotected
sex? Kirk answered, someone gave it to me, I don't give a fuck who I give
it to. Davey was uncomfortable with his answer but would soon adapt to
his philosophy.

Later that week, Kirk invited Davey to a barebacking party. When Davey
asked, what is barebacking? Kirk replied, barebacking parties have HIV positive
men (us) and HIV negative men in attendance. The premise of the party is
for the HIV negative men to try and get infected by the HIV positive men, they
consider this exciting and dangerous because they are playing russian roulette
with their lives. Numerous men will be there. Davey was stunned.
Who in their right mind would want to become infected with HIV? Kirk replied,
I don't know and don't care, as long as I get my rocks off. Davey tagged
along, they were treated like kings due to their HIV status. Men were lined
up to sleep with them. Davey and Kirk continued having unprotected sex with
men and women, they were undercover brothas, downlow thugs, walking time bombs.

Davey tried to attend
group meetings and he went to a few black churches. The churches were
not set-up to offer any type of counseling or support for black people living
with AIDS, he had to go to the gay community to get pamphlets and counseling.
During one of his counseling sessions, a counselor told him, "I counsel many
HIV positive men, I can go out to a nightclub with my girlfriend and I see these
same men trying to pickup women." Davey was shocked at the statistics
in the black communities across the country. He also learned that many blacks
considered AIDS a gay disease. Some black men had a superman mentality
and some black women continued having sex without protection.

Teenage pregnancy
in the black community did not decrease despite the increase in AIDS infections.
Davey was upset that the black community was not set-up for AIDS education or
prevention. Davey realized that he was part of the problem, he would not
continue to spread the disease, he would ask GOD for forgiveness. What
had he been thinking? He would also talk to Kirk about his reckless behavior.
Davey went to the pharmacy to fill his meds. A new employee from
the neighborhood recognized the prescriptions as AIDS medications. Davey's
illness became the talk of the neighborhood. His ex-girlfriend Jenny called
"you reap what you sow, what goes around comes around, ain't karma a bitch?"
Although Jenny and Ebony hadn't slept with Davey since his release from
prison, they both decided to take a AIDS test.

Their tests came back negative.
Several women from the hood tested positive. A cluster of new AIDS cases
was also reported in the Castro district. Davey received death threats
and decided to stay in- doors and watch movies. The following year he
was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS. Kirk would die from the disease and
his live-in girlfriend would test positive. Davey had breakfast with his
mother one morning, she left for work, he began to feel weak and nauseated.
He had a migraine headache and decided to take a nap, he never woke up.
Davey died alone. Three people attended his funeral, his mother
and two children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Half of HIV patients worldwide are
women. African-American women are being infected at alarming rates.
Many of these infections stem from ex-convicts. AIDS is also running rampant
in prisons and African-American communities across the country. Blacks makeup
13 percent of the U.S. population and account for 38 percent of all AIDS cases
in this country. Black women and children account for 60 percent of all
new AIDS cases.